MEDWAY TOWNS SOROPTIMIST TRUST
TRUSTEES REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31[ST] MARCH 2022
| Registered charity number 1175474 | |
|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | |
| Administrative details | 2 |
| Governance | 2 |
| Objectives and activities | 3 |
| Achievements and performance | 4 |
| Financial review | 5 |
| Structure, governance and management | 6 |
| Declarations | 7 |
| Financial report (Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2021) | |
| Receipts and payments accounts | 8 |
| Statement of assets and liabilities | 9 |
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
Registered Charity No. 1175474
1
Report of the Trustees
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31st March 2022. The Trustees confirm that the annual report and financial statements comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the trust’s governing document and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (SORP FRS 102). Since 2020, the Trustees have also taken into account the Charities SORP Committee’s guidance regarding “Implications of COVID-19 control measures and charity financial reporting”.
Administrative details
Registered Charity Number: 1175474 Registered Office: Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust 328 Lunsford Lane Larkfield Aylesford Kent ME20 6HX Trustees: Elizabeth Duckworth Barbara Fisher Lillian Gould Janet Garnons-Williams Wanda Wright Staff: No staff are employed by the Trust Independent Examiner: No independent examiner is named here, as the trust’s low income currently precludes examination or audit.
Governance
The Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Foundation model), registered charity number 1175474.
The Charity’s constitution is the primary governing document of the Charity.
The Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust was registered with the Charity Commission on 31[st] October 2017.
Purpose
The purpose of the trust is to ensure the responsible management of a small financial endowment and to occasionally award modest grants.
Background
The original investment was generated by members of Soroptimist International of the Medway Towns in the 1960s and we are influenced by their Soroptimist philosophy of actively supporting the community locally, nationally and internationally, through service and through funding.
The Trust is managed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are (but do not have to be) members of Soroptimist International.
Soroptimist International is a recognised Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) representing women from all over the world. Soroptimist International (SI) and Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) both have consultative status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the United Nations (UN), which gives a voice on important discussion papers, and allows members to attend the Commission on the
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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Status of Women in New York each March, and contribute to the “Agreed Conclusions”. This status would not be possible without the fantastic work being done by, and facilitated by, Soroptimists at local level.
There are around 72,000 Soroptimists in 121 countries, the majority of whom belong to their local Club, where they can make friends with like-minded women, have fun and work on projects that help improve lives.
Objectives and activities
Charitable objectives
The object of the charity as set out in its governing document is:
To further such charitable purposes (charitable under English law) as the Trustees see fit from time to time.
Activities
The trust exists to manage a small endowment and occasionally provide modest grants for projects which fit within the areas of work listed in the guidelines.
The Trust has an obligation to:
-
manage the investment in a responsible way to ensure the proceeds deliver community benefit;
-
discharge the duty to gain maximum growth of the fund.
The Trustees consider applications quarterly.
Public benefit
The Charity’s Trustees have complied with their duties under the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission. Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust’s particular public benefit activities are included under Achievements and Performance, illustrating the commitment of the Charity to supporting charitable causes locally, nationally and internationally.
Policy on grant making
In recent years the Trustees have strengthen their focus on the Soroptimist mission: Soroptimists transform the lives and status of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities .
They also recognise that, as an organisation which is in touch with the local community, the Trust can often offer a nimble response to local causes which larger charities cannot.
The grant making priorities are therefore to:
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better reflect the Soroptimist Mission, particularly support for women and girls;
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favour local causes;
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continue our policy of supporting individuals, but only through established organisations, not through grants directly to individuals;
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be responsive and react to urgent requests between board meetings if necessary;
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continue to meet the Charity Commission requirement that we remain separate from the Soroptimist Club;
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not fund projects retrospectively;
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support only one grant per organisation at any one time.
The grant application form and guidance reflect these priorities.
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The Trust conducts quarterly minuted Board meetings at which grant decisions are made. The decision to award a grant must be a majority decision of a quorum of Trustees. The quorum is two charity Trustees. If an urgent application is received, it may be discussed and voted upon by email between Board meetings.
A Trustee may declare an interest in an applicant organisation, in which case they will withdraw from the vote. In the case of an equality of votes, the Chair has a second or casting vote.
The Trustees gather sufficient information, primarily through the application form, to give assurance that the applicant is genuine, reliable and competent, and suitable for us to support in terms of meeting our charitable purposes. Occasionally a vote will not be held until we have requested and secured more information about the applicant or their project.
The Trustees insist on appropriate monitoring of the grant spend in terms of progress reports and invoice evidence, to give Trustees oversight and scrutiny. Our level of monitoring and scrutiny will be proportionate to the size of the grant.
Achievements and performance
Activities to 31st March 2022
In the previous year we had reported an interesting time due to the Covid-18 pandemic, like many charities. The Trust has seen an impact on the investment and consequently took a cautious approach to grant making. This year our investment is making a slow recovery but we have still seen a reduction in the number of grant requests due to the dampening of local activity.
Managing our investment
Our financial assets sit with Sanlam, an investment house who provide the level of financial monitoring and management we need to give us control and accountability.
Our original capital investment with Sanlam in April 2018 was £120,000 and it recovered well from the initial Covid-19 impact to give a total at 31[st] March 2021 of £141,640. Over this year, the capital grew by a further £6,967. During the year we drew down a sum of £10,000 into our distribution account to cover future grants. This left a balance at 31[st] March 2022 of £138,607.
The Trustees continue to be very grateful to Leon Payne of S & P Wealth Management for his independent financial advice. Leon continues to offer advice and guidance without charge, as he wishes to support the valuable work of the Soroptimist movement.
Grant applications
Our operational account with Lloyds Bank covers the cost of grants and bank charges. The balance stood at £4,948.18 at the start of the year.
Our plan has been to allocate around £4,600 per annum to donations and bank charges, but despite interest from a number of small local organisations, this year we only made 2 grants totalling £1,300:
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£300 to Blythswood Trust’s Shoebox Appeal, which sends boxes of gifts to children and adults in Eastern Europe. Whilst boxes of gifts are donated voluntarily, there is expenditure incurred by Blythswood in transporting them to their destination and our grant contributes to this cost.
-
£1,000 to the "Fitness, Freedom and Brighter Futures" project at the Medway Women’s Refuge, to provide access passes to local leisure centres for women and children, along with fitness classes, swimming and gym access, yoga and self-defence activities and courses, and group mindfulness sessions. The monitoring report from the Medway Refuges showed considerable benefit to their residents and their children.
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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We have not advertised our grant scheme and recipients tend to come to us through charities or other organisations by word of mouth. We did not support the many unsolicited requests for funding from large national charities and small London charities.
In our cash account, £4,948.18 was brought forward at the start of this year. £10,000 was drawn down into the account from our capital investment. Grants of £1,300 were awarded and bank charges totalled £84, leaving a balance of £13,564.18 to be carried forward.
Website
In the past, the Trust had a page on the website of the Soroptimist International Medway club, where applicants could find the application form and guidance. We plan to develop our own internet presence which will be independent of the Club webpages.
Financial review
Principal funding source
Our sole funding source when the charity was formed was the financial investment endowed by Medway Soroptimists, as described on page 2.
Total funds
At the end of this period our total funds were £133,564.18. Of this, we continue to record our original investment of £120,000 in the Sanlam investment account. Its value of course fluctuates over time and the current value will only be realised if and when we release the asset. We will monitor closely.
The remaining £13,564.18 is in our bank account, to give cash reserves for operational costs and awarding grants.
All funds are unrestricted.
Reserves policy
The Trust employs no staff and is operated entirely by the Trustees, who are volunteers. Our running costs are minimal (mostly bank charges), so we will ensure that a balance of £500 will always remain in our cash account to meet the Charity Commission guideline of reserves of 3 - 6 months of running costs.
Our main reserves are our capital investment. We aim to maintain an investment of at least £120,000 to ensure we generate some growth which can be accessed every three years to top up the bank cash account. This will ensure we can continue to make modest grants to meet our charitable objects.
Risks
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. Regular formal Trustee meetings are held to review progress towards achieving the Charity’s objectives and to promote strategic direction within the Trust.
The Trustees regularly address risks and uncertainties and put in place procedures and controls to ensure those risks are adequately managed. The principal risks in 2022 are:
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poor performance of our capital investment;
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a grant recipient not using the funds to benefit the community;
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trustees retiring so we are no longer quorate.
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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The first will be mitigated by close monitoring of our investment, consulting our advisor at S & P Wealth Management as necessary. The second is mitigated by robust due diligence when assessing a grant application and good decision making. The third is a very low probability risk and we continue to generate interest in the Trust by communicating our work to colleagues and supporters, a potential source of new Trustees.
Plans for the future
The Trustees recognise that over the past two years they have fallen below their donation target and their contribution to public benefit.
We are a very small charity and will continue to operate in a cautious way over the next 3 years, aiming to award total grants of up to £4,600 per annum. We will maintain our policy of not advertising and will continue to rely on the number of applications growing by word of mouth. To achieve our target we will have to more pro-actively seek out causes which meet our objectives.
We look forward to seeing our modest donations continue to make a real difference to people’s lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Structure, governance and management
Board of Trustees
The Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Foundation model), registered charity number 1175474, set up in 2017 in response to the need to manage the Soroptimist endowment. The founding Board of Trustees was Liz Duckworth (Chair), Barbara Fisher (Treasurer), Lillian Gould, Janet Garnons-Williams and Sue Daykin, skilled and committed volunteers with strong backgrounds in finance, law, fundraising and the VCSE (Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise) sector.
Sue stepped down at the 2020 AGM and we were delighted to welcome Wanda Wright to the Board as a new Trustee.
The Board is responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation and meets regularly to manage the investment, to assess any applications for funding which have been received, and ensure that the Trust is on track to meet its objectives. The Board met four times during the last financial year as well as convening the Annual General Meeting in May 2020. This year’s AGM was held in May 2022. In 2021 to 2022, all our meetings were via Zoom.
The Trustees have complied with the duties described under the Charities Act 2011, and with proper regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission.
Each year we submit the annual report of the trustees and accounts to the Charity Commission for the financial year ending 31[st] March. Our report to 31[st] March 2021 was completed and submitted before the due date and was accepted.
Thank you
I would like to thank my fellow Trustees for their conscientious work for the Trust this year, and to Leon Payne for his continued support and advice. We look forward to growing our donations over the coming year and to continuing to make a real difference to people’s lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Liz Duckworth Chair 02/08/2022
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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Declarations
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees
| Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date |
||
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Duckworth | Barbara Fisher | |
| Chair | Treasurer | |
| 02/08/2022 | 02/08/2022 |
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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Financial report
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust
Registered charity no. 1175474
cc16a
Receipts and payments accounts
For the period from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022
Section A Receipts and payments
| A1 Receipts | Unrestrict ed funds 4,948 10,000 14,948 - - 14,948 84 300 1,000 1,384 - - 1,384 13,564 - - |
Unrestrict ed funds 4,948 10,000 14,948 - - 14,948 84 300 1,000 1,384 - - 1,384 13,564 - - |
to the nearest £ Restricte d funds Endow- ment funds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
to the nearest £ Restricte d funds Endow- ment funds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
to the nearest £ Restricte d funds Endow- ment funds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
to the nearest £ Restricte d funds Endow- ment funds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
Total funds 4,948 10,000 14,948 - - 14,948 84 300 1,000 1,384 - - 1,384 13,564 - - |
Total funds 4,948 10,000 14,948 - - 14,948 84 300 1,000 1,384 - - 1,384 13,564 - - |
Last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account | 4,948 | 6,728 | |||||||
| Drawdown fromcapitalaccount | 10,000 | ||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) | 14,948 | 6.728 | |||||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total Total receipts |
- | - | |||||||
| 14,948 | 6,728 | ||||||||
| A3 Payments | |||||||||
| Bank charges | 84 | 80 | |||||||
| MedwayYouthCouncil | |||||||||
| Water Aid | |||||||||
| MeruWomen's Garden Project | |||||||||
| Meru Teen Mums project | |||||||||
| Ovarian Cancer Action | |||||||||
| Schooluniformappeal | |||||||||
| Blythswood Trust | 300 | 300 | |||||||
| ZisizeFeedingProject | |||||||||
| Family Kitchen Project | |||||||||
| Abbey Court's Farm Project | |||||||||
| 'Love Me, Love Me Not'cards | |||||||||
| Lalibela Children’s Library | 500 | ||||||||
| MedwayDomesticAbuse Service | 100 | ||||||||
| Medway Street Angels | 600 | ||||||||
| Hospital Radio Medway | |||||||||
| Clarion Housing (Medway Refuges) | 1,000 | 200 | |||||||
| Sub total | 1,384 | 1,780 | |||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases | |||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| Sub total Total payments Net of receipts/(payments) A5 Transfers between funds A6 Cash funds last year end Cash funds this year end |
- | - | - | - | - | ||||
| 1,384 | - | - | 1,384 | 1,780 | |||||
| **13,564 ** | - | - | **13,564 ** | 4,948 | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| 13,564 | - | - | 13,564 | 4,948 |
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
Registered Charity No. 1175474
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities |
Bank account Total cash funds Sanlam investment |
Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 13,564 - 13,564 Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - Fund to which asset belongs Capital investment Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - Restricted funds to nearest £ - - Cost (optional) - Cost (optional) - - Amount due (optional) - - |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) | ||||
| 120,000 | ||||
| - | ||||
| Current value (optional) | ||||
| - | ||||
| - | ||||
| When due (optional) | ||||
| - | ||||
| - |
Signature Print Name Date of approval Signed by Elizabeth Duckworth 02/08/2022 one or two Trustees on behalf of all the Trustees Barbara Fisher 02/08/2022
Medway Towns Soroptimist Trust Annual Report 2022
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